“Jurassic Park” actor Sam Neill reveals cause of death – National

Sam Neillthe actor known for the role of Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Parkdied from pneumoniahis agent confirmed Thursday.

Philip Grenz, Neill’s longtime agent, told the BBC that he decided to reveal the cause after speaking with the actor’s family to correct “inaccurate and outright lies” reported in the media.

“As Sam Neill’s longtime representative, I spoke with his family and would like to clarify some details for his fans,” Grenz said in a statement. “Sam passed away from pneumonia. Before he got sick, Sam had bravely fought and defeated lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”

Grenz said that over the past year, Neill “filmed four projects back-to-back…all of which will be released within the next few months.”

He said Neill’s family “will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a later date yet to be determined”.

“I would like to thank those who were truly close to Sam for treating his privacy with the respect he has earned and his loved ones need and deserve during this extremely difficult time,” he added.

Pneumonia is swelling of one or both lungs that causes the air sacs in the lungs to fill with pus and mucus, according to the Canadian Lung Association.

Inflammation of the air sacs prevents oxygen from reaching your bloodstream properly, he says. Pneumonia can be life-threatening, the organization notes, adding that it is the leading cause of death and hospitalization in the elderly and people with long-term illnesses.

Neill’s family announced that he had died on Monday at the age of 78, calling his death “sudden and unexpected”.

“It is with great sadness that Sam Neill’s loved one shared the news of his death on Monday July 13, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and departed with the dignity that characterized his entire life,” he said. the family wrote.

“The loss was sudden and unexpected, but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free. They wish to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their outstanding care,” the statement added.

In 2023, Neill revealed that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In April of this year, Neill announced that he was cancer free.

“I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and a pretty miserable business, but it was keeping me alive,” he said. Australian network 7news.

He said that after the chemotherapy stopped working, he was “at a loss and it felt like I was on my way out, which was definitely not ideal”.

After undergoing a treatment that genetically modifies blood cells, Neill said he was cancer-free.

“I’ve just had a scan now and there’s no cancer in my body, that’s amazing,” he said. “I’m very, very excited that this could happen.”

Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.

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